Memorials Committee– The Memorials Committee encourages and assists family giving through memorials.  This group works with family members to purchase memorials for the deceased, prepares the All Saints Sunday worship service, acknowledges each memorial contribution with a thank you card, and maintains the memorial tree in the narthex.  Meetings are held as needed.

Click on the Memorial Tree picture to see a list of all Memorial gifts

A memorial is a contribution one makes in memory of another person who has died. Memorial gifts have a long, honored history in the life of the Christian community. To give a gift in another’s memory expresses respect and love that continues beyond death.

West Des Moines United Methodist Church encourages memorial giving as a part of one’s Christian stewardship. The Memorials Committee seeks to assist persons in giving memorials by providing the following information. If you have further questions, please contact the church office at 515-279-0826.

A memorial is established through the Memorials Committee in one of the following ways:

1. You may contribute a memorial gift directly to West Des Moines United Methodist Church. The Memorial Committee will then send a letter to the family of the deceased indicating that you have given a memorial gift. Or

2. You may give your memorial gift directly to the family, who may elect to create a memorial through our Memorials Committee.

Memorial contributions are recorded in a special Memorials Fund Account where they remain until used to purchase a memorial. Gifts may be designated by the family for a specific purpose, or they may be left to the discretion of the Memorials Committee for emerging needs.

For suggestions regarding designated gifts, you may wish to talk with the chairperson of the Memorial Committee or a pastor regarding the project or use. A list of suggested areas of use is available.

If there are specific expectations, stipulations, or limitations regarding a particular memorial, these must be reviewed and accepted by church leadership. If for whatever reason the specific expectations cannot be honored, the gift will not be accepted.

Areas of giving include ministries for children/youth/adults, missions, worship, music, building and property, the Endowment Fund, and emerging needs.

Current and past gifts are on the Memorials Committee page, under About>Committees on the church website (www.wdmumc.org). Past memorial gifts up to 2008 are recorded in the Memorial Records Book on display in the narthex of the church.

Each year, the congregation recognizes new memorial gifts and formally dedicates them on All Saints Sunday, the first Sunday in November. Family members are invited to be present for this worship service. A leaf is added to the memorial tree in the narthex to recognize a memorial for the deceased.

The Memorials Committee invites you to consider memorial giving as a way of honoring those special people who have enriched your life.

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
Attn: Memorials Committee
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50265
(515) 279-0826
Email: churchoffice@wdmumc.org
www.wdmumc.org

Updated 08/2024